Lonely Hearts
by unknownxkidx13
Summary: A hard love story between Miyu and Kanata. Sorry, but Ruu and Wanya won't be in this story. It's just them two and other meddling characters. Find out how their love story will turn out.
1. The New Beginning

**The New Beginning**

**Author's Note: **

I'm going to try to vacillate the anime/manga's plot. If anyone urges to contribute me numerous advice or suggestion, please feel free to do it. I'll make sure to do my best. Thank you. You all know how Miyu and Kanata first met. It surely did make me laugh. But my story will be a lot different from what you expect. I was stuck among two beginnings- both of them meeting by chance or them being childhood friends and Miyu leaving. To find out what my decision is, please read my story. I'm also changing some of their appearances described in the story.

--

**FROM THE PAST **

_Miyu and Kanata were happily playing together. Laughter filled Miyu's living room, and both their eyes were filled with happiness. These two kids were merely enjoying each other's company, or so they thought. "Look at those kids. They're really happy. Do you really want to take that away?" Miku asked. They looked at the children again. "Is there something else we can do?" _

_"Miku, there's nothing else we can do." Yu sighed. "This is our dream. We're not going to be any younger. She's still a child, she's still building up her dreams. But us," there was a pause. "This is a one time opportunity." Yu glanced at the kids again. "I wish that we have other options for her." _

_"There is one thing." Miku took the phone. "We can ask Hosho to take care of Miyu."_

_Yu started shaking his head. "No. Not going to happen." He took the phone off Miku's hand. "Hosho's our friend, but we can't depend on him like that. He has Kanata to take care of. Hitome's very busy too. We're gonna have to do it. Let's talk about it later. We still have to pack." Miku and Yu went off to their rooms and left the children in the living room alone. _

_After a few hours of playing, both of them fell asleep on the couch. Miyu's head was on Kanata's lap, and Kanata's was on the armchair. For now, they seem inseparable. Little do they know that a lot of things will get in between their friendship. Miku checked the kids, and saw that they fell asleep. She put a blanket on top of them. "I'm sorry." Miku whispered. "I'm sorry for what we're gonna have to do." She patted their heads and walked away. Yu saw the look on her face. _

_"Look, it's not like she's going to live there forever with us." Miku looked at her husband with doubt. "If we're lucky enough to live our dreams for a long time, we can send her back here if she wants to." Miku didn't have the strength to protest to her Yu. She just nodded, and went up to the room. "I'm going to wait for Hosho. He'll be here to pick up Kanata. I'll explain everything to him." _

_Yu sat on the kitchen table and waited for his friend. "Miyu's still a child. She can make new friends in America. Kanata won't be her only friend." He told himself. He didn't want to feel guilty, and thought of positive possibilities. "Its hard to separate two children who had been friends since birth." _

_He watched the kids sleep from the kitchen, and smiled at himself. He didn't know that Miku was also watching him. She knew that he didn't want to separate these two, but he was too attached to his dreams. He couldn't let go. Miku went back to her room. "This'll be my last time seeing this house." She sighed. When she closed the bedroom door, someone knocked on the front door. She heard Yu greet his friend Hosho. _

_"Hosho, where's Hitome?" He asked. "Kanata's still sleeping. We should talk for a little while in the kitchen." Hosho already knew what Yu wanted to talk about, but he didn't say anything. "Thank you for letting Miyu see Kanata again. It will be their last time seeing each other in a long time." Yu didn't see the sadness in Hosho's eyes. "The kids..."_

_Hosho and Yu talked, laughed, and smiled. They tried to dodge the subject of the Kozuki family moving to America. "What's going to happen to Miyu?"_

_"Well, she's going to start primary school there. We're going to assign a babysitter for her." _

_"That's not what I'm talking about. I know that you know what I mean."_

_Yu smiled. "It won't be our decision by then. It will be up to her whether she wants to come back here again." _

_Hosho was relieved to hear Yu's response. "That's good to hear. I didn't want you to take over your daughter's life." He chuckled. "I hope she'd still remember us." They heard the kids move in the living room. "Kanata's awake. Don't you want to tell Miyu now? If you do, she'd be able to say good-bye to Kanata properly."_

_"They're still kids. They don't have to say good-bye. They'll see each other later." Yu exclaimed._

_"I hope you're right." Hosho stood up and walked to the living room. He hugged Miyu and Kanata at the same time. "Be a good girl, okay Miyu?" _

_Miyu laughed, and Kanata laughed along with her. "You sound like you're saying good-bye, Uncle." Hosho and Yu's eyes grew big. "I'm always a good girl. Bye bye." _

_Hosho stood up, carrying Kanata on his right arm. He walked over to where Yu was. "She's mature enough to understand. But I'll respect your decision. Good-bye." Hosho walked away with a smile. "Say good-bye to Uncle Yu and Miyu." _

_"Bye Uncle. Bye Miyu." Kanata said. Yu took Miyu on his arms and watched Hosho and Kanata leave. She waved at them, and they waved back. When they were out of sight, Yu set her down, and closed the door. She ran to the couch and turned on the T.V. Yu sat next to her, and watched her carefully. _

_"Daddy, do you want to say something?" She looked at him and smiled. "You've been staring at me." _

_"Miyu, listen to me." Yu sighed. "We're going to leave this place. But you'll be back again, okay? You can't see Kanata for a while." _

_"Okay." Miyu smiled. "Goodnight daddy." _

_Two days after the talk, Miyu didn't have any idea where they were going. All she had in mind is that she'd be going back to her place. When they got to America, her mother explained to her that she won't be back for years. When she heard the news, she didn't want to stay anymore. She begged them to go back to Japan. She cried for days, and they were hurt to see her like that. But after a year, she was back to normal. But they still knew that she missed Kanata. Several years passed, and she stopped talking about Japan. She made a lot of friends, and she changed a lot. She became so much prettier, and a lot stronger. They never thought that the day she'd want to go back to Japan would come._

_--_

_A FEW DAYS EARLIER:_

_"Mom, can I talk to you and Dad later?" I asked them. I haven't forgotten about what they told me when I was six. It has been eight years since that day. "It's really important." I picked up my dishes and put it in the sink. "I'll be in the garden." _

_When I got to the garden, there were a lot of stars. Today was the only day I can talk to them. Tomorrow, I hope they can call Uncle Hosho for me. I'm going to fly back to Japan if they let me. I sat on the grass, and looked up at the stars. I hope they would let me. I miss Kanata. I wonder if he still remember me. I hope he's not mad. When my parents finished eating, they went straight to the garden. "This is unusual. You making a conversation first." Mom joked. "What is it? You look serious?" She looked at me and grabbed my hands. _

_"Do you need money?" My dad asked. I shook my head. "What is it?"_

_"Remember eight years ago?" I asked. I noticed them glance at each other, then looked back at me. "You told me that I can go back to Japan one day. And it will be my decision." I waited for them to nod. "Well, I want to go back tomorrow."_

_"But you're going to graduate in a year. Can't you wait until then? And you won't have a place to stay at if you leave tomorrow." My dad said without pausing. "You can't just make up your mind like that."_

_"Dad, I can. I haven't had a babysitter for two years. And I rarely see you two here at home. If I can take care of myself here, I can take care of myself over there." They were shocked to hear me say these to them. I've made up my mind since they told me that it was going to be my decision. I knew that I'm going back there whenever I was ready. I'm ready now, so why do I have to wait?_

_"She has a point there." I was glad to hear my mom agree. But dad would be hard to convince._

_"Miku, she's just a child. We can't let her stay in Japan all by herself." Dad looked at me and scowled. "NO! You can't go."_

_"But you said-"_

_"No is a no. And when did you think about this? We've only seen each other in two days, and you already want to leave?"_

_"Dad, I've thought about this since I was little. You have-"_

_"Since you were little. You were still a kid, Miyu, and you still are. It's been eight years, you don't know what you were thinking."_

_"If I don't know what I was thinking, I could've changed my mind after all these years. If I'm still a kid, then why are you always leaving me alone? Remember dad? TWO DAYS. It was exactly TWO DAYS when you dragged me all the way here. If you think I'm being unfair, guess what? Like they said, life is unfair." I turned away, and walked towards the door._

_"I should have listened to Hosho. She was mature enough to understand the situation." He said loud enough for me to hear. "Miyu," he called out after me. "We'll take you there tomorrow."_

_The next day, my mom and dad dropped me off outside the airport. They waited for Uncle Hosho to pick me up, and they went back to America. They were in such hurry that they didn't even stay for an hour. "Miyu, you've grown into such a wonderful lady."_

_"Thank you Uncle." I flashed him my biggest smile. "Will you please keep quiet about this for a few weeks? I want to surprise Kanata."_

_Uncle Hosho smiled at me. "I'm glad that you haven't forgotten about him. But why a few weeks?" _

_"It's because I want to fix up the house we used to live in. It's been eight years since someone lived there, and I'm going to have to buy new appliances. Mom and dad gave me a lot of money for it." _

_"If that's what you're worried about, you don't have to. I fixed up the place every year. It still looks brand new. As big as always. But if you want new furniture, feel free to buy what you want." He put my luggage in the back seat. "Tell you what, since I can't help you buy new items, I'll tell Kanta to help you out."_

_"But-"_

_"it's okay. You guys haven't seen each other in a long time. I bet he missed you too."_

_"Thank you Uncle."_

_"I'll tell him in a few days."_

_--_

_BACK TO THE PRESENT:_

_Here we are, sitting in the middle of the living room, not talking. Kanata looks a little different, but in a good way. He looks better than he was a kid. Maybe he's been good looking, but we were still too young to notice it. "Um, do you want to eat anything?" _

_"I don't want anything. Let's just go and buy the furnitures. I don't have much time for this." But his attitude is so much different. I missed the old Kanata. The sweet, nice, caring, lovable Kanata. "That Old Man told me to help you out. But I don't see the reason why. You're furnitures are still as good as new."_

_"You know what? Forget it. If you're gonna be like that, then just leave. I don't need your help anyway." I went to the kitchen and grabbed something to eat. "Seriously, I came back here for no reason." I said to myself._

_"What did you say?" Kanata walked in front of me. "Just because you came from America doesn't mean that you can talk to people like that. You conceited-"_

_"First of all, I'm not conceited. Second of all, why are you like this? You're being cocky and everything. I never knew that you were so cold hearted."_

_"Let's just go and buy your furniture. After that, I'm not gonna stay here. You can just get some helper to do it for you."_

_We went out shopping, and buying new furnitures for the house. They said that they were going to ship it to our house. In fact, they actually had a computer where we can design how the inside of the house would look like. After printing it out, I gave them the copy and they said that they would do everything. But I had to pay them a lot more. But that didn't matter, since I didn't need to fix the house thanks to Uncle Hosho. After that, we went out to eat for a while. And Kanata was still quiet. "Why are you like this around me? We used to be so close."_

_He looked up and stared at me with dull eyes. "Key words, USED TO."_

_"But why'd your attitude change so much?" I really wanted the old him back. I'm still the same old Miyu who loves him like a brother. But he's so... different._

_"Why don't you ask yourself? You were the one who moved to America without saying a word." I was shocked to hear his response. He was hurt as much as I was. I moved on, and tried not to think about it. While he suffered here alone. I thought that our friendship was gone, but I was wrong. It was still here, but I knew that there was a big distance between us. A distance that could never be closed again. _


	2. Closing The Gap

**Closing The Gap**

**Author's Note: **

Continuation of Lonely Heart's chapter one. I hope you guys like this. Like I said on the previous chapter, I'm just using Daa Daa Daa's character names. But I'm going to change their appearance descriptions.

**Disclaimer: **

I do not own the characters. Maybe I'll add a few more later. As of now, I'll stick with the original characters first.

--

**IN THE CAFE: **

"Do you think that I had a choice back then? They took me to America without me knowing. Yeah, my dad told me that we'll be gone for a while. But no one told me that I'll be gone for more than a week." Miyu was fuming, and it was really noticeable. "You know what? Forget it! There's nothing else to explain."

"There's a lot of things for you to explain. Why didn't you at least say good-bye? Why didn't you tell me that you were going for a while?" He paused. "I was always asking my dad where you were, and he just told me that we can't see each other for a long time. I had no idea that you'd be gone for eight years."

"I had no idea either. Do you actually think that I wanted to live there? Do you actually think that I preferred luxury over my friendship with you?"

"Obviously that's what you picked for eight years." He stared at her furiously.

"They told me that I can go back here anytime I want. Why do you think I came back now?" She asked in rage. People were watching them argue, and they were whispering about them.

A waitress walked to them and cleared her throat. She was still smiling even though it was obvious that she was annoyed. "If you two are going to fight, please do it some place else. There are other people here who are enjoying their meals. We wouldn't want them to leave because of you two, now would we?"

"We're sorry. We'll be finishing our food in silence, then we'll leave." Kanata spoke to the waitress calmly. "Thank you for the warning." When the waitress left, they were both eating in silence. Miyu just looked down on her food, while Kanata kept looking up at her or outside the window. Kanata examined Miyu's new hair. When she was a kid, it used to be blond. Now her layered, brunette hair, with dark roots highlighted her blue eyes. It also highlighted her perfect tanned skin tone. _She does look prettier, but her attitude changed a lot. I wonder what she thinks about me._ Kanata doesn't know that Miyu is thinking the exact same thing as him. She thinks that he looks good, but had a sour attitude. "Look, can we talk about this problem when we get to your house?"

Miyu shrugged. "I don't want to argue anymore. But if you promise that we'll try to sort out this situation, then yes, we can talk about it at home." It was as if she was talking to her food. She didn't look up at all. Not even once. "Deal?"

"Yeah." Kanata didn't know what else t o say. He waited for Miyu to finish her parfait. When she was done, he called for the waitress that served them the food. "I'll pay for it."

"It's okay. I'll pay for it." Miyu insisted. "That's the only thing I can do now. And you can't say no to my offer." When she said that, he didn't speak anymore. The waitress put down the bill, and Miyu payed a little bit more than what they wanted. She felt bad about the atmosphere that they've caused. So she payed a little extra money. "Let's go."

**BACK TO MIYU'S HOUSE:**

Miyu turned the knob and went inside the house. She was still quiet, and she sat down on the couch. "You can sit anywhere you want. This is like your house too."

"That was before you left." Kanata said. "The time when your parents were still here."

"Parents." She smiled at herself. "Do you want anything to eat? I can try cooking it. Unless you want to order something else."

"We just ate at the Cafe, and you're already hungry?" He asked. "Why don't we just watch a movie or something?"

"I am hungry. I don't know why." Kanata looked at her perfect body. She wasn't fat, but she wasn't skinny either. She had curves that were noticeable under her fitted shirt. "Yeah, we should. But I don't have new movies here. And the cable isn't back yet. They said it'll be back tomorrow or by the end of the week."

Kanata laughed. "I thought you've changed. You're still the old Miyu I knew. Although you don't look exactly like the old Miyu. But you still eat as much as her." He teased Miyu, and he laughed when he saw her blush a little.

Miyu loved Kanata's laugh the most. She didn't know that he could still laugh like that. _I can feel the distance between us is closing. But why does he feel so far away? _"I do not eat a lot. I only had a parfait and a slice of cake in the Cafe. Unlike you. You ordered two slices, and you finished before I did."

"That's because I'm a guy." He pointed out. "You know, why don't we just stay here instead of rent new movies?" He looked around. "I can help you clean the place if you want. "

Miyu's face lit up. "Really? You will?" Kanata nodded. "Thank you. How about we start with my room?" Kanata blushed a little. The thought of being in Miyu's room made him blush. He remembered the days when they used to play there alone. Her room was as big as her parents. Only a few feet smaller. Miyu led the way, and Kanata followed.

Miyu opened her parents' bedroom, and walked in. It still looked the same, except the furnitures were filled with dusts. "I thought we were going to clean up your room first?"

"That's why. My parents said that I can have this room if I wanted. They said they won't mind sleeping in my room when they visit me." She looked around. "If they ever visit." She said to herself. She knew that her parents will be busy like usual, and won't have time to visit her."

Kanata noticed the sadness in Miyu's eyes. "Are you okay?" She nodded. "You miss them, don't you?"

"I'll tell you the reason why I went here, and the reason why we left. Each story is connected to the situation that we're in right now." Miyu sat on the bed, and motioned Kanata to do the same. Kanata sat next to her, and she took a deep breath. "Okay, the reason they left Japan is because they wanted their dreams to come true. In order to do that, they had to separate us from each other. My mom wanted to be an astronaut, and left Japan for NASA. My dad wanted to be an astrophysicist ever since he was little. They had these opportunities in their hands, so they took it right away.

They took me with them because they didn't want t o bother your parents for taking care of me. When we got there, we only had a chance to be together for a month. After that, they had a babysitter to stay with me everyday. Well, I had three babysitters. One in the morning, one during the night, and one for the weekends. They were my family. My parents were too busy to even come home. Whenever they do, they're too tired to do anything for me.

Two years ago, the babysitters stopped coming, and I had to take care of myself. I learned how to take care of myself. I made a lot of mistakes, but I learned from it day by day. When I finished seventh grade a few months ago, I decided that I'm ready to live here by myself. It's safer for me to stay here alone than in America. Yeah, I met a lot of new friends, but none of them were the same as you. A week ago, I asked my parents if I could go back here. My dad refused to let me at first, but my mom agreed with me. I had an argument with my dad, and he lost.

They took the plane with me to go here, and waited for Uncle to pick me up. I asked him not to tell you that I'm here. But he still told you. He cannot be trusted." Miyu chuckled. And Kanata just listened to Miyu as she explained everything. "See, the reason why I didn't go back here earlier is because I was still learning how to deal with everything by myself."

"I didn't know that you're life was that hard." Kanata said. "You must've felt lonely." Miyu just smiled. "But you could've have called to let me know that everything were alright."

"Like my dad said, we were still kids back then. There was nothing we could do." Miyu said. They looked at each other and laughed. "And we still are."

When Miyu explained everything, they started cleaning the house. They started with Miyu's room. Miyu swept the floor, wiped the windows, and dusted the furnitures. Kanata on the other hand, moved the furnitures to the designated locations, painted the room, and dusted the furnitures. When they were done with that, they moved to Miyu's old room, and did the same thing. Then they moved the the other room, which was, and still is, the guest's room. Kanata used to sleep in that room when they were little.

When they were finally done, they're bodies were aching. They did a lot of work, and they were dead tired. They rested on the couch in the living room for a while. "Hey, how about we run to the movie rentals and rent a few movies?" Kanata asked. He wants to be closer to Miyu just like the old times. They both wanted to do that. And they both knew that they didn't have to try really hard. They're getting closer every second. But they haven't noticed that yet.

"Sure. But it's pretty late. Won't Uncle get mad if you go home really late?" She wanted to be with him, but she didn't want him to get in trouble. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I want to hang out with you right now. But Uncle might think that we've been hanging out for a long time."

"Don't worry about it. Dad doesn't mind me spending the night here. He suggested that I should. At first, I didn't want to because we were kind of fighting. But now I know the reason why you didn't say anything about you leaving." Kanata looked at Miyu, examining how grown she looks. "So, can I stay?"

Miyu pretended to think about it. But she really wanted him to stay. She wanted to talk to him more. And get to know him even more. "Well..." She paused. "You can stay, but you're gonna have to help me clean the rest of the house tomorrow." She smiled at him, he knew that she was kidding. "Of course you could stay. It's so lonely staying here alone."

"Thank you. In return, I'll help you clean the rest of the house tomorrow." He looked around, and noticed that the house looked spotless. "Not that it needs any more cleaning."

"I cleaned the kitchen and the living room yesterday and the other day. Which means that everything is already cleaned. We just need to wait for the new furnitures to come. We'll be helping them tomorrow."

"You cleaned the house?" He seemed surprised. "I never knew that you'd be very..."

"Organized and responsible?"

"Yeah. I always thought that you were going to be like those other rich girls. You know, letting others clean the house." He stood up, and looked at the DVD. "Is this new?"

"You know I'm not that type of person. Ever since I was a kid, I didn't like depending on others, and you know that." Miyu stood next to Kanata. "Yeah. That's one of the newest DVD players in America. I bought it before I came here. How about we go to the movie rentals now?"

**IN THE MOVIE RENTALS: **

Miyu and Kanata walked in the movie rentals laughing and smiling at each other. "I can't believe you did that when I left. You actually begged your father to bring you to where I was?"

Kanata laughed. "Yeah. I was crazy back then. I really wanted to see you. Telling you is embarrassing. But it's really funny."

"Kanata!" Someone called out. Kanata and Miyu stopped talking to check who called Kanata. A guy with brown hair and green eyes stepped in front of them. He looked happy, and stared at Miyu completely. "I didn't know that you had a girlfriend." He was checking out Miyu. He looked up and down, and then stared at her eyes. "I haven't seen her around school. I didn't know you were popular from another school too."

"Um. You're misunderstanding the whole situation. I'm not from another school. And I'm definitely not Kanata's girlfriend." Miyu tried to explain. "I'm-"

"You're already calling him formally. You seem to have a good relationship with him." The guy said. "By the way, my name's Santa Kurosu. I'm Kanata's best friend."

Miyu raised an eyebrow , and looked at Kanata. "_I didn't know that you had a new best friend._"

Kanata read Miyu's mind. "_You were gone for a long time._" He tried to tell her. If she didn't leave for America, she would've been his best friend. But eight years was a long time.

"Well, what's your name?" Santa asked. "I never knew that Kanata had another girlfriend outside the school."

"Hmm. We're going to get a long, Kurosu-kun." She smiled mysteriously at both guys. "i'll find out a lot of things about Kanata, thanks to you." She winked at him. "By the way, my name's Miyu Kozuki. But you may call me Miyu."

"Well, Miyu, you can call me Santa. Nice meeting you." There was a pause. "You know, we should hang out before eight grade starts. And I should call you sometimes, Miyu." He added before turning to Kanata.

"Sure, why not? Well, I'll leave you two for a while. I'm going to look for movies to watch." Kanata and Santa waited for Miyu to leave.

"Why are you here?" Kanata asked threateningly. "You usually don't go here during this time. Why today?"

"I should be asking you that. It's already late, and you're still not home." Santa said with a dull voice. "With a girl, too. You never told me that you had a girlfriend."

"Seven is not late. And like she said, she's not my girlfriend. She's my childhood friend. She moved to America when she was six, and came back here to finish junior high and high school." He waited for Santa to say something. "Don't say anything about her to any of your friends, or mine. Especially Chris."

"I'll make sure not to tell anyone. Especially Chris. She might rip her head off. You know how jealous your girl can get."

"She's not my girl. She likes me, but I don't like her like that. How many times do I have to explain that to you?" Kanata asked. "Anyway, I need to help her look for movies to watch. We're going to watch it together." Kanata turned towards the way Miyu walked to.

Santa grabbed Kanata's arms before he even got away. "You're staying over at her house?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You've never been close to any girls before. Why is she different from the others?" Santa asked suspiciously.

Kanata pulled his hands away. "Like I said, she's my childhood friend. What else is there to explain?"

"Your childhood friend that you haven't seen for a long time. That's what you have to explain. You usually don't stick to girls. Tell me, do you like her? Think about it. Do you have feelings for her ever since you were kids?"

Kanata just rolled his eyes and walked away. _I don't like her like that. Why can't they understand that?!_ This whole thing was making Kanata more infuriated. "Miyu, did you find anything good?"

"I think so. I found two horror movies. One drama. Two actions. Hmmm. Three comedies." She showed Kanata all the movies. "Are these good?"

"Yeah. All of them are actually good. But we won't have enough time to watch all these." Kanata scratched his temples.

"We're going to have a movie marathon." Miyu laughed shyly. "No sleeping aloud. We haven't seen each other for eight years. We need to catch up on a lot of things." Kanata was in no position to argue back.

**BACK TO MIYU'S HOUSE:**

Miyu inserted the first DVD they wanted to watch. It was a horror film. "Wait up, let me grab something from my room." She went up the stairs to her room, and grabbed two pillows and a blanket. "Here!" She threw the pillow at Kanata. "Can I sit next to you? Or do you want the whole couch to yourself?"

"You can sit next to me." He reached for the remote. "Here, you can put your head here." Just like old times, Kanata offered his lap as Miyu's pillow. He knows that Miyu loves hugging pillows instead of using it on her head. Miyu smiled, and settled there. "Your head is heavy." Miyu sat up quickly and scowled."I'm kidding. I'm kidding. You're still light like always."

Miyu set her head down again, and watched the movie. They were quiet, but they felt comfortable around each other. Just a day, and the eight years that she missed is already closed. Their friendship is as strong as always.


	3. Unexpected News & Visitors

**UNEXPECTED NEWS & VISITORS**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Okay, I'm not sure how long this story would be. But I'll write it as long as I can meet my standards. Please, give me a review about my story. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW. I haven't been getting any. Which is making me feel as my writing is not worth reading.

**DISCLAIMER:**

I decided to use the characters from Daa Daa Daa because I have always thought that they're really cute. And I love their attitude and how they relate with each other. But I'll be adding a few characters from this chapter. Hope you like them.

It was two in the afternoon, and Miyu already finished everything she needed to do. She grabbed the phone, and dialed a number. "Hey, Santa. It's me, Miyu." There was a crackling noise on the other line.

"Miyu? Miyu Kozuki? Kanata's friend? How'd you get my number?" There was another crackling sound on his end. He was doing nothing important when she called. He was just watching another movie and eating popcorn by himself.

Miyu smiled at herself due to his reaction. "Haha. Yeah, it's Kanata's Miyu. The one you met like a week ago." She was looking for something good to watch, but couldn't find any. "Sorry for calling you out of the blue. I got your number from Kanata. Anyway, are you doing anything right now?"

"Well, I'm in the middle of watching a movie." He noticed the silence on Miyu's line. "But we can hang out if you want. I've seen this movie a lot of times anyway."

"Are you sure?" She sounded excited. She's been longing for someone else to hang out with other than Kanata. Not that she was bored of him or anything. She just wanted a new someone new to be friends with. She misses her friends in America. And she wanted to find out what Kanata was up to when she was gone for a long time. She also wanted to get to know Santa. "I mean, it's okay if you don't want to. It's just that Kanata is helping out Uncle with the temple."

Santa smiled at Miyu, although she couldn't see it. "It's okay. Really, I'm getting tired of hanging out by myself anyway." He assured Miyu. "Don't you have any other fr- Oh right, I forgot. You just moved here. Well, moved back here." Santa was stuttering. _Why am I getting nervous? She's just another girl. Like the girls in my class. She's no different. Well, except for the fact that she's really ho- cute. I hope she doesn't think I'm boring after or weird after hanging out with me. _"You know what I mean. Anyway, what do you have in mind?"

"Since you said that you were in the middle of watching a movie, and I was looking for a movie to watch, why don't we rent movies that we can watch together? You know, just stay home and hang out." Miyu stopped to think of what else to say. Something necessary. "We could get to know each other more."

Santa literally jumped up for joy. But he did it quietly. He didn't want Miyu to think of him badly. "That sounds great. Let's meet at the movie rentals? The place where we first met?"

"Okay. Just call me when you're ready." Miyu said. "I'm free anytime."

"I'll be there in a few minutes. Do you know how to get there?" Santa asked curiously.

Miyu nodded idiotically. She's forgotten that they were talking on the phone, and couldn't see each other. "I happen to have a good sense of direction. Okay, I'll meet you there in a few minutes. Bye." She put on her super skinny jeans, and purple "_ROCKSTAR" _shirt, and a leather jacket. She threw in a two inches high heels. _Why am I dressing up as if I'm going on a date? Oh well, it's normal for me to dress like this_. She pulled the scrunchy out of her hair, which was unexpectedly wavy for being tied up for hours after taking a shower. Her dark roots were very noticeable now. _I wonder what happened to my blond hair. I guess its in the genes. Mom said that she had light hair too when she was little, but n ow she has a dark brown hair. _"Why am I talking to myself? Seriously."

Miyu walked casually to the movie rentals. There were guys who tried to talk to her, but she completely ignored them. There were some people who turned around to look at her. She saw some girls who were glaring at her because their boyfriends were eying her. _What's up with these people? It's not like it's their first time seeing someone like me. I'm just a common person. Maybe. I think. I hope. Oh god! Help me1 _When the movie rentals was in her view, she saw Santa walking her way. "Hey, Santa! What's up?"

"Okay, what movies do you have in mind? I have until ten at night. So we still have seven hours to hang out." Santa said coolly. "Where are we going to watch it?"

Miyu smiled. "Well, we can either watch it at my house, or your house. You pick." They were heading towards the movie rentals.

"Okay, we can go to your house. Parents will be home, they'll freak out if I bring a girl in my house."

"It's okay." They went inside the store. "So, what movies are on your mind? I'm up for anything. I really like watching movies."

Santa shook his head, but he was smiling. "You're kinda like Kanata. You guys would watch any kind of movies. I remember watching a cheesy love story because he watched it." He laughed at the thought, but Miyu just smiled. She was amazed that a guy like Kanata would watch a romance movie. Then, she remembered that watching any type of movie has been their hobby since they were little. It was mostly because of her. She would always ask him to sit with her and watch, instead of playing something fun. But because of that, he became fond of movies. "Seriously, are you guys like, going out?"

"No, we're not going out. We've been friends since we were practically born. But when we were six, my parents had to move to America, which had to separate both of us." Miyu explained. "But we're nothing more than that."

"Weird, cause he never said anything about a friend like you." Santa said without thinking. His words stung Miyu a little, but she knew that it was her fault. No, she knew that it was her parents' fault. If they didn't bring her with them, their friendship would've been really strong. "Actually, Kanata's very popular with girls in our class, but he always kept to himself. He didn't want to get near any girls at all. Did you know that he never had a girlfriend? I wonder if it was because of you."

Small, red spots burned Miyu's cheeks. "I don't think it was because of me." _He never had a girlfriend? Because of me? That's not possible. Why would I be the reason for that? We didn't see each other for a long time, and we were friends when we were little. But I do feel pretty bad though. _Miyu felt bad for only one reason. She thought that she was being unfair. She had three boyfriends in America. And all of them were a little older than she was, one or two years. They were also athletic, but not as good looking as Kanata. _What would Kanata say if he finds out that I had a boyfriend? _

"-yu. Miyu?" Santa called out. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Oh, sorry. My head suddenly throbbed. Don't worry though. It was probably because I've been cleaning the house these past two weeks. You know, we only have two weeks left before we go back to school. Why don't we do something next week? You know, before the school starts. You can tell your friends, that way I can meet them a week earlier than I'm supposed to." Miyu didn't even stop to take a breath. She wanted to change the topic, and stopped talking about Kanata. _Damn, and I was planning on asking him a lot of questions about Kanata, but that would make him think that I like him. And that would make me feel even guiltier about dating other guys. UGH! I hate this. _"What do you say?

Santa was suspicious about the sudden change of topic. "Yeah. I'm going to tell Kanata first. He'd love to go to the beach." He looked at the movies that were in his hands. "How about these movies? Are you okay with them?"

"I'd watch anything. I don't really have anything in my mind." Miyu said apologetically. They went to the counter to rend the movies. Then they walked back to Miyu's house. They talked about how he and Kanata met, and a lot of other activities they have done. But he was being careful of not asking Miyu about what happened in America or why she really had to move there.

**IN MIYU'S HOUSE:**

When they were standing outside Miyu's house, Santa's mouth dropped open. "This is where you live?" He looked at the two story house, that had ceiling to floor windows on the first floor. "I've passed by this house a lot of times, but I never knew that it belonged to you."

"Well, it's not that big." _Compared to our house in America,_she thought. Miyu didn't like to brag, and she never liked the fact that they were rich. "You know, instead of you standing there stupidly, why don't we go inside the house?" When they went in, Santa couldn't stop giving comments about the new furnitures, and the interior design. "You know, I'm really getting tired of this. I don't really like people knowing that my family has money. And I don't really like it when people compliment about the whole house. I mean, I wouldn't mind living in a small place if I had to. At least there's something that would protect me from the weather."

Miyu was a real person, she never liked to think of herself taller or in a higher position than anyone else. "Sorry. It's just that, you know, I've never seen a place like this."

_This place was when my parents weren't that rich. I'm greatfulthat he won't be able to see the house in America. That would've killed him. That house is like a mansion. Well, the house is small, since I was the only one who lived there. But our summer house. Oh GOD! _"Okay, let's stop talking about this. Just put in the movie right there, and I'll go make food." Fifteen minutes later, Miyu came out with pasta in plates. She settled it in front of them, and sat back on the couch. "Now that we have everything let's watch."

Miyu sat on one of the couch, and Santa sat on the other. Miyu trusted Santa, but she didn't feel comfortable sitting next to him. YRT. They were both enjoying each other's company. They concentrated on the movie they were watching. "I'll be right back." Miyu said, and Santa nodded. Miyu went to the kitchen to get something to drink. When she was about to go back to the living room, the phone rang. She looked at the caller ID, and it indicated Kanata's number. "Hello? Kanata?" She asked.

"Yeah. It's me. I was calling to check up on you." Miyu smiled. Kanata was worried enough to call her. She knew he was busy, but he still called to check on her. "And to ask if you're with Santa."

"I'm fine, and Santa's with me. How'd you know?" Miyu asked.. "Are you spying on me?"

"No. Why would I be spying on you?" His voice was trembling. "My friend called me to say that Kanata was on a date with this '_one hot chic_'." He emphasized the last three words to show Miyu that he was angry. Is it really anger or was it jealousy? "I asked him to describe who the girl was, and he described you. They said that you met about an hour ago." Miyu could tell that his voice was shaking. "What are you guys doing there? Are you guys alone?"

Miyu sighed to calm herself down. "Look, I did not go on a date with Santa. I don't know why your friends are always assuming that I'm dating one of you guys. Do I look that easy to be with someone? Maybe that's why you called. Cause you don't trust me."

"No, Miyu, it's not that we, or they, think that you're easy. It's just that you're... Well, you're new here, and they don't really know you that well. So they just keep assuming things." He wasn't very convincing. "I told my friend that you're just hanging out with him because you couldn't hang out with me. And you get bored easily when you don't have a company." He was telling the truth, he did explain that to his friend. He was surprised to hear that his friend believed him. "My friend believed me because he said that it was impossible for Santa to be with a girl like you."

They both laughed, and Miyu said bye. "Well, I have to go. Santa's waiting in the living room. We're going to be here until ten. If you want to come over, you can. All three of us can hang out. You know. Cause there's an aura between us, and we don't really feel comfortable around each other yet." She admitted. "I guess its because Santa's not you. And I just met him. You know me, haha, I don't usually get comfortable around guys after getting to know them."

"Okay, bye." Kanata didn't say anything about coming over Miyu's house. But she knew that he's going to be there in lesse than an hour. She's not that sure, but she can sense it.

Miyu hanged up the phone and went back to the living room. "Sorry, I had someone to talk to on the phone." She apologized to Santa. "Anyway, did I miss a lot of things?" Santa nodded, and paused the video. He told her what she's been missing. He was smiling while he told her. He explained everything that she needed to know when she missed it. "Thank you."

"I've been wondering. How come your parents are not home right now?" Miyu was quiet for quite a while. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay. I was just wondering why you asked that." Miyu smiled at him sweetly. "Then I remembered that you didn't know my family when I was little." She p aused and rubbed her temples. "Okay, here's the story. When I was little I lived with my parents here. Kanata would always come over, but they didn't mind. My parents and his parents have been friends since high school, before we were even born. My parents had dreams that they wanted to achieve. And they can only do that if we move to America. When we d id, my parents took me with them. But they told me that I could move back here anytime I wanted to.

I waited for the right time before I moved back here. My parents were never home, so I took care of myself for two years. Then, I asked them if I could go back. At first, my dad refused, but he finally let me. My mom agreed with me right at that moment. I didn't have to convince her. Now, I'm living here alone. But I don't really feel lonely. Because Kanata sleeps over sometimes. Or we have a movie marathon, and never sleep at all. Uncle Hosho tursts us, and we're not going to do anything that will ruin his trusts." Miyu explained. Santa couldn't take all of it in. He was getting confused at some parts, and made him feel light-headed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. It's just that... You sleep over with Kanata here?" He asked in surprise. "I mean. You know, just the two of you?"

Miyu shook her head. "Here we go again." She muttered to herself. "Just forget that part. And its not like we did something bad. We're just friends, and you should remember theat." She played the movie again, and Santa stopped talking. Half an hour passed, and someone was knocking on the door. Miyu came to check who it was, and she smiled when she saw him. "Kanata's here."

Miyu opened the door, and let Kanata in. "You got here fast." Miyu teased him. "Just sit, and I'll grab you something to eat." She looked at Santa, and asked if he wanted anything to eat. "Okay, you guys enjoy the movie. And I'll be back with the food." Kanata asked for whatever there was, so she heated the pasta she made over an hour ago. Santa just asked for something to drink. She opened an apple cider, since she doesn't know if Santa drinks whine. Her parents let her drink a little, as long as she still knows what's going on around her. Ever since then, she knew exactly when she should stop drinking. "Here you go. Here's your pasta, and here's your drink."

She plopped down next to Kanata, and watched the movie. Kanata was eating, and spending his time watching the movie and looking at Miyu. She was really tired after all the cleaning she had done that morning, her eyes were feeling heavy. She wanted to sleep, but she thought it was weird. "What time did you wake up, Miyu?" Kanata asked.

"Why are you asking that all of a sudden?"

"Forget it. Just lie down. I can tell you're really tired. So just rest." He made his lap available for her head, and she rested there. A few minutes later, she was in her own dream world. She fell asleep without knowing it, and both guys were there to watch her. "Sorry about this. When she's sleepy or tired, you need to tell her when to rest. She doesn't like being rude and just fall asleep when someone is at her house."

Santa smirked. "You really know Miyu, huh?" They went back to watching the movie. When it finished, they talked for about what they were going to do next week. About Miyu suggesting that they should go to the beach. Kanata thought that it was a nice idea. Until they got to another topic. "What are you going to do with Chris?"

"I don't know. When we go to school, I can't just say that Miyu's my childhood friend, or they won't allow us to be close to each other." He stopped to think. "I was thinking, that maybe we could be like cousins."

"Cousins?" Santa raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think that they would care even if you're cousins?"

Kanata sighed. "These girls are crazy. Well, I'm going to tell them that she's been living in America. So she needs to be with me for a while until she finds real friends."

"That could work." Santa said. "Well, I should be going. She fell asleep, and we can't just do whatever we want here. It's her house, you know."

"You do know that she won't mind, right?" Kanata said. "We can still watch a movie or two. Your curfew's not until ten." He was brushing Miyu's hair with his hand.

"It's alright. We can just hang out again some other time." Santa was already walking towards the door. "And plus, I don't want to bother you two. Not that I think that you're going to do something wrong, but you know. Couples should be alone together." He teased Kanata/ "I'm playing. But you know, you guys look good together. Perfect couple/"

"We're fr-"

"Yeah, yeah. You're just friends. But are you sure that you don't feel anything for her? I think you know what I'm talking about, and I think she feels exactly the same about you." He winked, and silently closed the door behind him. Santa can tell that the two of them are falling for each other without even realizing it. They just need someone to push them a little, and that someone would be him. "Those people are still kids."

_What the hell is Santa saying? I feel something different for her? And she feels something different for me? He's such an idiot. Why would he think that we have that kind of relation? Me an Miyu? We're like siblings, and that would be an incest if something happen between us. Wat, why am I __talking about something happening between us? Geez, that Santa did something to my brain. And I don't like ti. _Kanata lifted Miyu's head a little, and set it down on the couch. He inserted another movie, and put her head back to his laps. He watched the movie alone, and fell asleep.

Someone was knocking on the door, but no one answered it. The knob turned to open the door, and Hosho was standing in front of it. He looked at Kanata and Miyu's sleeping face. "These two are still acting like old times. Watching a movie and falling asleep in the middle of it." He turned off the T.V, and went to the kitchen. He cooked food for all three of them.

Miyu woke up, and went to the kitchen. "Santa, is that you?" She walked slowly to the kitchen. And jumped when she saw another man standing in front of the counter with a knife. But she sighed in relief when she noticed that it was her Uncle Hosho. "Uncle, don't scare me like that." Her heart was beating a lot, and it was possible for Hosho to hear it. She was afraid that someone else have gotten in the house without her knowing. "Do you know where Santa is?"

"Santa who? Are you talking about Kanata's friend, Santa? Cause if you are, he's not here. I just found you and Kanata sleeping there on the couch. I was surprised to find the door unlocked." Hosho assured her. "Are you sure he was here?"

Miyu nodded. "I'm pretty sure he was here. I was watching a movie with him before Kaanata came. And then I fell asleep." She felt bad that she fell asleep on Santa all of a sudden. "He probably left when I fell asleep. I feel really bad."

"It's not your fault. Now, go and watch in the living room. I'm going to cook for a change." Miyu did as she was told. She didn't need him to tell her again. She watched the movie quietly, afraid that Kanata would wake up. _He must be really sleepy to not be able to hear all the noise that Uncle is making. That, or he's already used to it. _

**DINNER TIME:**

"Miyu, will you please wake up Kanata? The food is done." Hosho called out from the kitched.

Hosho turned to look at who was behind him. "I've been awake." It was Kanata. He looked really sleepy, and his eyes were droopy. "What's the occasion? You don't usually cook for anyone. More importantly, you don't usually pick me up."

"Is it bad for a father to cook for and pick up his son?" Kanata looked at him suspiciously. "Okay, fine, I'll talk about it after lunch. It's something important." He sighed. "Don't get mad at me, please."

Kanata shook his head. He didn't know what his father was talking about, but he knew that he's not going to like what he's about to say. He called for Miyu, and waited for the food. Miyu noticed that Kanata didn't have his usual happy face. He was forcing his smile. _Why are you forcing your smile like that? I hate it! You look really ugly. _Miyu knew better not to speak at a time like this. There was something wrong, and she was not about to point that out. Not until Kanata talks about it first. When the food came, Hosho was trying to brighten up the mood. But he gave up after he failed a lot of times. They all ate in silence, and Miyu sensed the aura around the other two. Kanata had a dark aura around him, and Hosho had an agonizing look. "Thanks for the food. Just leave the dishes in the sink when you're done." She said while she picked up her dishes. She placed it in the sink, and walked past her guests. "I'll be going to my room. Just call out for me when you're done eating." She was never that good at being a host.

"It's okay, Miyu. You should stay. I need to talk to the both of you." Hosho didn't even look up when he was talking to Miyu. Miyu sat down on her chair, and watched them carefully. She didn't know what else to say. "I'm sorry for bringing such weird mood around here."

Miyu shook her head. "Enough. Dad, just get to the point. What did you want to talk about?" Kanata said angrily.

"I don't think nows the time. You should finish eating first."

"I'm already done. Now, can we get to the point?" This was the first time Miyu saw Kanata mad. She admit, she was a little frightened. But she loved him more, but only as a friend, after showing her another side of him.

Hosho sighed. "I'm usually an outgoing person, but I don't know how to break this to you guys." He looked at Kanata, then at Miyu. "Look, you both know that I'm the monk in the Saionji temple." The other two nodded. "Well, I'll be going on a pilgrimage in India. I don't know when I'm going to be back."

"WHAT?!" Both exclaimed.

"I've been dreaming of this. So, I took the chance. But I don't have to take you with me, Kanata. I know you can take care of yourself. You can live in the temple, and visit Miyu once in a while. Or Miyu can visit you if she wanted to." He looked at Miyu with begging eyes. "Or, if Miyu's fine with it, you can live with her. I already asked her parents, and they were happy to hear that. They wanted someone to live with Miyu, and they felt more comfortable when I told them that it can be you."

Kanata shook his head over and over, which would make one person dizzy if someone was watching him. "NO! You're always like this. Making up your mind without even asking me. Do you know how hard it is to have a f-"

"KANATA! Stop it! Uncle is just trying to achieve something before his life ends. Why can't you be more supportive?" Miyu's raised voice caught Kanata off guard. Mitu turned to Hosho, and smiled freely. "Look, Uncle, I'd love having Kanata around. And I would love it if you live your dream once. You know, my parents were like that. I understand how Kanata feels. Right now, he's feeling betrayed and lonely. You really shouldn't make decisions by yourself. You have your family to think about, not just yourself." She stopped, then continued. "What did Auntie say?"

Miyu suddenly felt like she just said something wrong. "Hitome died not that long after you left."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay. Mother would've been happy to see you. I'm sure of it. But you know, we've already moved on. But that doesn't mean that we've forgotten about him." Kanata smiled. The first time she saw him smile that night. "So, you don't have to worry." He turned to Hosho. "As for you Dad, you can go to India if you want. You already heard what Miyu had to say, and I did too. I don't have the right to interfere with your life."

Hosho jumped up and hugged Kanata really tight. "Thank you. Well, I'll be leaving tomorrow."

"ALREADY?!" Kanata asked surprised.

Miyu giggled. "Uncle, you really are my parents' friend. You guys are exactly the same. By the w-" The bell rang before she could even finish her sentence. "Please excuse me. I need to get the door."

"No, it's okay. I'll be going out the back. I need to finish packing." Hosho said. "You can stay over here tonight, Kanata. I'll be fine on my own. And plus, we don't know who those people are, Miyu might get in trouble later."

"Why don't you go through the front Uncle?" But he was already gone by the time Miyu turned around. "You're father's really good at escaping." The door bell rang again. "Coming."

Miyu opened the door, and screamed when she saw the group of people standing in front of her door. Kanata came running after hearing it. "What's wrong Miyu?"

"What are you guys doing here?" Miyu hugged the people one by one. There was at least fifteen of them. "How did you know that I'm here in Japan?"

The group laughed. Kanata looked at them one by one, and had an idea who they were. "Well, you have a few stalkers here. They wanted to see you right away when they found out that you were going back here." A girl with slick, black hair said. She looked like a model, but she wasn't as pretty as Miyu.

"Why didn't you tell us you were moving? We could've at least said bye." The girl with thick make up said. "Or did you know that we wouldn't let you go anywhere far from us?"

There was about six girls among the group, and the rest were guys. Kanata met one of the girls' gaze. "Oooh, now I know why you aint going back to LA." Miyu looked at Kanata. "You have one hottie right here. I knew you had a good taste, but I never knew that you be living with guys at this age."

Kanata smiled nicely. "This is my childhood friend, Kanata. The one that I told you guys about." The girls smiled, and the guys glared at him. "Let me introduce you guys. This is Alicia, Leti, Whitney, Jeniffer, Justine. And of course, you shouldn't forget my one and only girl, Alex. Her real name's Alexa, but we all call her Alex." Kanata shook hands with each of them. "And these are the guys. Let's start with the youngest. These are the guys from my school. Same year as me. John, Kenny, Kevin and Francisco. Then these are the old men. Just kidding. They're barely in high school. Jason, my best guy friend, is now a sophomore. We met at a part. Then these two are juniors, Jason and Donovan. Then these two are seniors, hopefully they graduate this year- Matt and Ahmad."

"Nice to meet you." Kanata said kindly. He received at glare in return. Miyu looked at them coldly, and they finally smiled.


End file.
